Schapelle Corby will know in two weeks whether she will be
sentenced to languish in an Indonesian prison for the rest of her
life.

Judgment day for the accused drug smuggler was set down for May
27 after her defence team wound up its case in a Bali court
today.

But Corby's lawyers were dealt a disappointing last-minute
setback by failing to have what they claim is crucial new evidence
presented in open court.

The trial's three-judge panel refused to hear details of
emerging allegations linking Australian airport baggage handlers
and an international drug syndicate following a Sydney cocaine
bust.

It also declined to watch a video of a recent Indonesian TV
interview in which the head of Bali's drug squad, Colonel Bambang
Sugiarto, was interpreted as suggesting the Corby investigation
might have been "50 per cent" flawed - something he has
subsequently denied.

Baggage handlers and Indonesian law enforcement procedures have
been at the heart of the 27-year-old Gold Coast woman's tearful
pleas of innocence since her arrest last October.

Her defence team claims drug gangs are responsible for putting
the 4.1 kg of marijuana in her unlocked bodyboard without her
knowledge, perhaps during an Australian airport stopover before her
arrival in Bali.

They also accuse Indonesian customs and police officers of
bungling basic procedures when Corby was stopped on arrival at
Denpasar airport.

The judges today also refused to read six unopened letters from
Australians which the defence says could contain new information
about drug trafficking and the use of unwitting "mules".

Corby - who earlier smiled and chatted with her mother and
relatives through the bars of a holding cell - sat passively as the
judges ruled it was too late to formally hear new evidence in the
Denpasar District Court.

"Evidence that is not produced in court is not evidence," said
chief prosecutor Ida Bagus Wiswantano.

However, the judges said they would consider written defence
submissions filed by Monday.

"We are disappointed. But we still hope the judges will acquit
Schapelle," chief defence counsel Lily Lubis said after the
hearing.

Lubis hugged Corby, who also waved at well-wishers and family -
many wearing symbolic yellow ribbons.
"We have to be optimistic. Our client deserves a fair trial," said
Lubis.

Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose also appeared stoically upbeat.

"She is going to come home. She has to," Rosleigh said as she
walked into the packed courtroom.

Corby's sister Mercedes came to court carrying a large pile of
petitions.

She said she had received about 30,000 signatures on paper and
80 to 100 letters of support a day as well as hundreds of
emails.

"Schapelle knows about this. It has helped her a lot," Mercedes
said. "Her spirits are up an down. It depends on the day."

Prosecutors have called for a life sentence if Corby is
convicted on May 27.

Such a sentence would trigger months of appeals, during which
Corby would probably stay incarcerated in Bali's notorious
Kerobokan Prison, where she shares a squalid cell with eight other
inmates.

Even if Corby is acquitted or is punished with a light sentence,
the prosecution could launch an appeal of it own.

In their final verbal submission today, Corby's lawyers accused
the persecution of manipulating facts - "bending what is straight
and straightening what is bent".

"The defendant should be released of all charges," said one
defence lawyer, Erwin Siregar.

During the 30-minute defence presentation judges were seen
variously rubbing their eyes or reading what appeared to be a legal
text.

One seemed to be fidgeting with what looked like a business
card. None took notes, although a written text was handed to them
at the hearing's conclusion.